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An argument I've heard is that by legalizing betting, it can be more easily monitored with regulation and reduce the amount of black market betting. People stil

An argument I've heard is that by legalizing betting, it can be more easily monitored with regulation and reduce the amount of black market betting. People still bet when it's illegal, it just becomes harder to track, which makes it easier for gamblers to interfere with outcomes without detection. It sounds kind of similar to the legalization of certain recreational drugs. For example, alcohol prohibition resulted in a massive black market with organized criminal gangs, and many places realized it's better to regulate it rather than prohibit it. I think for gambling, we need better regulations, and the Australian government seems to think so too.

bdangubic 6mo ago
my grandma is not going to be looking for a black market bookie. some percentage of people will be no matter what though if you make penalties really severe you will significantly thin out this crowd. without gambling though, pat mahomes would be making less money that I am making…
- fineIllregister 6mo ago
  > without gambling though, pat mahomes would be making less money that I am making… It's not like he was broke when it was just beer and crypto ads. He made 10 million dollars his rookie year in the NFL before SCOTUS federally legalized gambling.
  - bdangubic 6mo ago
    you take away sports gambling and his rookie salary will be $50k :)
tokioyoyo 6mo ago
Almost nobody was betting in the black market before the legalization. Sure you obviously had some people, but friction was big enough where it was not worth it. Right now, there isn’t a single game where people are talking about the bets they made in NA. Nothing should be black and white. Even for alcohol and drug abuse, we should look at each and evaluate.
- fblp 6mo ago
  Yep it's hard to build a large liquid market for both sides of the bet without a central platform being legal. Look at polymarket as another example of things that people wouldn't bet on if a (legal in some countries) platform didn't exist.
- nradov 6mo ago
  I don't know about Australia but there was an enormous amount of black market sports gambling in the USA before it was widely legalized. People who were unaware of this were just oblivious or led very sheltered lives. Broad legalization may have been a net negative for society but it's a complex issue.
  - bdangubic 6mo ago
    define enormous? before it was legalized I knew one mate that was a gambler. I don’t have a friend anymore who does not sports gamble, hardly have relatives that don’t sports gamble. die-hard fans of teams now don’t give a hoot if the team wins (especially in the regular season)… not saying this is not a complicated issue but to say market was enormous is very much removed from reality
mikkupikku 6mo ago
Very few people gambled illegally. Putting some gangster out of business (Lol if you actually believe that) at the cost of addicting the entire working class to throwing away their money is bad math!
- awesome_dude 6mo ago
  Sorry, but what? Illegal gambling has been rife for a very long time - the bookie down the pub taking bets on horses, games, whatever Add to that that the Costigan Commission (1984) and the Fitzgerald Inquiry (1989) proved that illegal gambling was the foundational "river of gold" for organised crime in Australia.
  - girvo 6mo ago
    Yeah these people have no idea what they are talking about, you’re correct.
  - mikkupikku 6mo ago
    Illegal gambling at its peak was nothing compared to every store, restaurant and smartphone being a casino, advertised right out in the open.
    - awesome_dude 6mo ago
      True - legalisation increased total gambling. But your original claim was 'very few gambled illegally' which the historical record contradicts. The Costigan and Fitzgerald inquiries showed illegal gambling wasn't just widespread - the profits funded other organised crime including the heroin trade. We can debate whether legalisation was net positive without rewriting that history.
      - Teever 6mo ago
        So how wide spread was it? Like is there a graph of illegal gambling participation by pop over time? I've run in many different circles in my life and I've never really come across any sort of illegal gambling. I know it exists[0], it just honestly doesn't seem very common. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59JkkMBpQtU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59JkkMBpQtU
amomchilov 6mo ago
Some amount? Sure. But not at this scale. If people were just going to do it anyway, these gambling companies wouldn’t be pouring billions into advertising to stimulate demand

bdangubic 6mo ago

my grandma is not going to be looking for a black market bookie. some percentage of people will be no matter what though if you make penalties really severe you will significantly thin out this crowd. without gambling though, pat mahomes would be making less money that I am making…

fineIllregister 6mo ago
> without gambling though, pat mahomes would be making less money that I am making… It's not like he was broke when it was just beer and crypto ads. He made 10 million dollars his rookie year in the NFL before SCOTUS federally legalized gambling.
- bdangubic 6mo ago
  you take away sports gambling and his rookie salary will be $50k :)

tokioyoyo 6mo ago

Almost nobody was betting in the black market before the legalization. Sure you obviously had some people, but friction was big enough where it was not worth it. Right now, there isn’t a single game where people are talking about the bets they made in NA. Nothing should be black and white. Even for alcohol and drug abuse, we should look at each and evaluate.

fblp 6mo ago
Yep it's hard to build a large liquid market for both sides of the bet without a central platform being legal. Look at polymarket as another example of things that people wouldn't bet on if a (legal in some countries) platform didn't exist.
nradov 6mo ago
I don't know about Australia but there was an enormous amount of black market sports gambling in the USA before it was widely legalized. People who were unaware of this were just oblivious or led very sheltered lives. Broad legalization may have been a net negative for society but it's a complex issue.
- bdangubic 6mo ago
  define enormous? before it was legalized I knew one mate that was a gambler. I don’t have a friend anymore who does not sports gamble, hardly have relatives that don’t sports gamble. die-hard fans of teams now don’t give a hoot if the team wins (especially in the regular season)… not saying this is not a complicated issue but to say market was enormous is very much removed from reality

mikkupikku 6mo ago

Very few people gambled illegally. Putting some gangster out of business (Lol if you actually believe that) at the cost of addicting the entire working class to throwing away their money is bad math!

awesome_dude 6mo ago
Sorry, but what? Illegal gambling has been rife for a very long time - the bookie down the pub taking bets on horses, games, whatever Add to that that the Costigan Commission (1984) and the Fitzgerald Inquiry (1989) proved that illegal gambling was the foundational "river of gold" for organised crime in Australia.
- girvo 6mo ago
  Yeah these people have no idea what they are talking about, you’re correct.
- mikkupikku 6mo ago
  Illegal gambling at its peak was nothing compared to every store, restaurant and smartphone being a casino, advertised right out in the open.
  - awesome_dude 6mo ago
    True - legalisation increased total gambling. But your original claim was 'very few gambled illegally' which the historical record contradicts. The Costigan and Fitzgerald inquiries showed illegal gambling wasn't just widespread - the profits funded other organised crime including the heroin trade. We can debate whether legalisation was net positive without rewriting that history.
    - Teever 6mo ago
      So how wide spread was it? Like is there a graph of illegal gambling participation by pop over time? I've run in many different circles in my life and I've never really come across any sort of illegal gambling. I know it exists[0], it just honestly doesn't seem very common. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59JkkMBpQtU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59JkkMBpQtU

amomchilov 6mo ago

Some amount? Sure. But not at this scale. If people were just going to do it anyway, these gambling companies wouldn’t be pouring billions into advertising to stimulate demand